It's Nintendo Download Update time once again, with this week's North American offerings bringing a mix of old and new treats. The Wii U Virtual Console catches up with a long-demanded Game Boy Advance title, while there's also some strategy, gallery shooting and more coming to the home...

Bravely Default was a popular arrival when it was localised in Europe and North America, and also had a demo that served as a prelude to the main game. With Bravely Second: End Layer approaching in Europe the same strategy is being revisited.
With the game due on 26th February, including a gorgeous Collector's Edition

Collecting amiibo is a full-time obsession for some Nintendo fans, and there will be a great many out there who are kept up at night by the eternal question - should you open the packaging and reduce the value of the figure in order to use it in the manner Nintendo intended?
The reason collectors...

It's interesting to see how the Mario vs. Donkey Kong games have slowly changed over time. While the first game was a 2D platformer that echoed the philosophy of the classic Donkey Kong arcade game, each successive entry focused more and more on the miniature toy versions of characters. Now, it's become a...

European fans of puzzles and word games have a double release on the way this month, with Lightwood Games confirming a release date of 28th January for Word Puzzles by POWGI in the region. Already confirmed for 3DS, the title is also heading to the Wii U eShop on the same day.
These titles will provide a...

Another week begins and we have a modest batch of games to consider in the European Nintendo Download Update. There are the two versions of the final Mega Man Battle Network title on the Wii U Virtual Console, a neat demo on 3DS, DLC and the option to pre-purchase a major retail...

The time has come for the first North America Nintendo Download Update of 2016, and it includes a variety of options. The Wii U Virtual Console plays catch up with three light gun games, while new download offerings include a creative Minecraft-a-like, two RCMADIAX games and the return of Ninja Pig...

Deep within the vast, mysterious waters of our blue planet, the endless-runner genre is surprisingly still alive and well. As the name might suggest, Ocean Runner combines mobile friendly arcade gameplay with a nautical theme, perhaps creating the eShop's first endless swimmer title in the process, but is there enough here to keep our...

Many of you will no doubt remember BOXBOY!, a quirky puzzle platformer from HAL Laboratories that came out last spring. We gave it a 6/10, noting that it's a solid game, but it plays things a little too safe. Nonetheless, it apparently was a fairly popular title, as Nintendo has just announced a sequel.
The new game will be...

It's the first Nintendo Download Update of the year, kicking off with the European arrivals that are on the way. This week we have an enjoyable platformer from the Wii era and the EU debut of a Game Freak GBA title, along with a few varied fresh releases on both Wii U and 3DS. There are a...

Indie developer Ratalaika Games is bringing its action title Alien Dinosaurs to Nintendo platforms. The run-and-gun shooter - which wouldn't look out of place on the Game Boy - sees the player character getting abducted by alien reptiles who then set up a gauntlet of challenges to ascertain if the planet Earth is ripe for conquest...

It's the final North American Nintendo Download Update of 2015, and it's a little thin on content. Despite that there is a gem from the N64 era and some promising discounts, so all hope is not lost; let's get to it.
Missed the European Nintendo Download Update? Well, your New Years' Resolution...

The Delusions of Von Sottendorff and his Square Mind is one of the weirdest - and consequently, one of the most interesting - 3DS titles we've encountered. It has just a single play mode, in which the titular baron must escape the confines of his own home.
The trick, however, is that the baron is insane and believes himself to be...

Well, we have the final European Nintendo Download Update details of 2015, and there are a couple of iconic N64 games and an enticing 3DS option included. It's not exactly a packed week, but those with a taste for the slopes or the waves should be happy.
At the time of writing we've only...

The visual novel is without a doubt the most niche game genre in the West. While some visual novels that combine more traditional game elements have found success — Ace Attorney and Zero Escape come to mind — the vast majority of visual novels are not considered for western audiences. CIRCLE Entertainment's eShop release Petit...

Music production is gradually becoming more and more accessible and is now much more affordable than ever before. In years gone by top quality records could only be created with a huge amount of technical knowhow and financial backing in fancy recording studios. Now it's pretty commonplace to have people making...

It's the final Nintendo Download Update before Christmas, which is a merry occasion indeed. However you treat the Holidays, the update should help make the week a bit more special; we have a Wii classic, some free DLC, 3DS HOME Themes and a whole load of discounts. Let's get to the...

SteamWorld Heist was one of a few high-profile and distinguished titles to land on the eShop in December, and unsurprisingly developer Image & Form is getting ready to step back and take a break for the Holidays. It's released one final episode of 'The Engine Room', however, with a neat prize on...

Steamworld Heist may be one of the last games to release in 2015, but it's also one of the best. Riding high on Metacritic it looks set to be the highest-scoring 3DS game of the year, and is throwing a spanner in the works of many overeager publication's "game of the year" lists.
We sat down with Brjann...

Back in 2010, we reported on the news that Noitu Love 2 was headed to WiiWare, but issues relating to the publisher meant it never happened. Thankfully, the title is being resurrected for the 3DS and Wii U eShops, and will be available in Q1 2016.
Originally released on PC in 2008, the game uses a mouse-based control system...

Between retail full-lengths like Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, and Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure, and eShop singles like HarmoKnight and Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe, the 3DS has put on quite a sh

Project X Zone 2 will be among a glut of promising releases in early 2016, and will also be relatively unique among the crowded batch of arrivals. The RPG will once again mash up Capcom, SEGA and Bandai Namco franchises, and this time will throw in a bit of Xenoblade Chronicles and Fire Emblem for good measure. If...

For those of you with fond memories of fast-paced sports arcade games like Windjammers from the good old days, it will come as great news to hear that newly-formed UK based Chequered Cow Games is bringing the magic back with Power Disc Slam, set to arrive on the 3DS eShop early next year.
This modern take on the...

It's the final Nintendo Download Update for Europe before Christmas, Xmas or 25th December, whatever you choose to call it. It brings a couple of popular retro Mario treats, a decent Wii U eShop title, a whole load of discounts and more besides. Let's get to it.
Wii U eShop:
Kung Fu...

Not too long ago, we reported on Totes the Goat, a side project of Renegade Kid's Jools Watsham. When he was discussing how the game came about, it was mentioned how the studio has a tough time getting good footing in the eShop. Although most Renegade Kid games have been fairly well...

It's that time once again for the Nintendo Download Update, and this week brings us a long-awaited sandbox game, a promising Wii U eShop exclusive, some enticing 3DS eShop options, DLC, a lot of discounts and more besides. There's plenty to cover, so let's get to it.
Missed the...

The Legend of Dark Witch was a bit of a surprise on the 3DS eShop, with the action platformer proving to be a solid addition to the store; we gave it a recommendation in our review. Publisher CIRCLE Entertainment has now confirmed some key details around the sequel, including the fact it's arriving in North...

In the final Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS video presentation, series creator Masahiro Sakurai has revealed more amiibo will be arriving in store soon and also confirmed amiibo development for the three newly announced fighters.
Ryu from Street Fighter, Roy from the Fire Emblem series, and a...

We've said it before, and we'll say it again: The general-purpose, relatively simple programming environments of the BASIC family are a great place to get started with coding. Developer SmileBoom first brought its own variant of BASIC to DSiWare in 2012 with the charming Petit Computer, and now is back and stronger than ever with...

Nintendo Software Technology - as we've reported in the past - has endured a troubled history of late. The studio responsible for Wave Race: Blue Storm and Mario vs. Donkey Kong was once a major player in Nintendo's network of internal studios, but the costly disaster that was Proje

Another week is underway and we have the Nintendo Download Update for Europe. This week the star attraction is undoubtedly Minecraft on Wii U, but there are also quite a few retro offerings and some intriguing download options, in addition to a huge number of 3DS HOME Themes and...

Renegade Kid is a studio that has been supporting Nintendo consoles since the days of the DS. It arguably rose to prominence in current generation, though, as a higher volume of releases and the visibility offered by the eShop has catapulted it to higher levels of success. Generally speaking,...

We've seen a number of excellent eShop releases in 2015, and a handful of weekly updates that have been rather exciting, but the 10th December Nintendo Download Update is right up there among the best. On Wii U there's Shin'en's FAST Racing NEO while on 3DS there's Image & Form's...

When a studio has a surprise hit such as SteamWorld Dig, it would likely be forgiven if a straightforward sequel rapidly followed. That doesn't seem to be the norm on the eShop, however, and Image & Form has produced an ambitious follow-up in the form of a turn-based strategy game with a twist, placing trick shots...

It's a bit of a bumper week on the eShop for both Wii U and 3DS owners, with the highest profile arrivals set to be FAST Racing NEO, SteamWorld Heist and Terraria. The latter, rather like the upcoming Minecraft: Wii U Edition, has been a hugely popular game on various systems that's finally making its way to Nintendo hardware...

SteamWorld Heist is out this week on the 3DS eShop, joining Terraria on the portable and FAST Racing NEO on Wii U; along with some other releases it's looking like a crowded update. Image & Form will no doubt be hoping that the SteamWorld brand and anticipation for the turn-based strategy shooter will see it t

We're certainly fans of Steel Empire on the 3DS eShop, a classic shmup that's been given a quality remaster on the portable - we didn't exactly hold back any praise for it in our review. Unfortunately, however, it's been rather pricey in North America ($29.99 in the US) and has taken a while to arrive in...

While Europe still has to wait a bit, Dementium Remastered is out now in North America and stands as a pretty solid survival horror game; filling a gap in the eShop that very few have notably tried to fill. We awarded the game a 7/10 in our review, praising the upgrades this version received, while criticising certain gameplay...

As the house of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, Arc System Works is perhaps best known for its fighting games, but over the past few years it's also been quietly churning out a series of arcadey eShop sports games starring a multitalented Japanese family. Billy and his hyper-competitive clan have already brought charming, thoroughly decent...

SteamWorld Heist is out on 10th December on the 3DS eShop, and is a title that's intrigued us from the moment it was first revealed. Its predecessor SteamWorld Dig took off on the 3DS, gaining critical acclaim and a legion of dedicated fans, in the process also helping boost developer...

Taking a look at the Cooking and Gardening Mama games, it's obvious that developer Office Create knows how to take menial tasks and turn them into surprisingly engaging video games. Though North America hasn't seen a new title featuring Mama on a Nintendo platform in the past year (the latest release was a little more...

Another week kicks off with the European Nintendo Download Update, and it's certainly one of the stronger weeks in recent times for eShop fans. Both the Wii U and 3DS have highly anticipated 'Nindie' releases, while a hugely popular sandbox / crafting adventure also arrives on the portable as...

SteamWorld Heist is only a few days away from release now, and hype for the game is at an all-time high. Offering up a distinct experience from its predecessor, SteamWorld Dig, many are curious how Image & Form's latest entry in the SteamWorld series will stack up in comparison. Based off of what's been shown up to this point, it...

A few days ago, it was revealed that Steamworld Heist will be releasing on 10th December, a little less than a week from now. Those who buy it before the end of the year will receive a discounted price and 3DS buyers will have the added bonus of a home screen theme that will become unavailable once 2016 begins. In order to build hype...

We already have FAST Racing NEO coming to Wii U and SteamWorld Heist to 3DS on 10th December, and now the eShop update will have another high profile arrival - Terraria.
The 2D platformer / resource / sandbox game has become a huge success since it took off as an Indie title on PC, picking up 505 Games as a...

During the Nintendo Direct in November one of the surprise announcements was Pokémon Picross. It seemed like a bizarre idea, but crossing over the Pokémon franchise with the quirky Picross series is precisely what the somewhat stagnant puzzle series needed, adding a considerable amount of replayability and strategy onto the...

The Holiday season is upon us, which is rather jolly indeed. No, that's not cynicism, but actually sincere - it's a time of year when we can spend more time with family and friends, and either go all in with gift buying and giving or simply hand over the gift of our precious time. Don't offer 'time' to all loved ones, though, they might...

Though most updates to the 3DS just make the device even more stable than before, there have been rare occasions where new, major features were added, such as the introduction of Miiverse to the platform. Another major improvement was the addition of home screen themes, providing gamers with a way to customize...

We're stepping into an exciting period of releases at retail and on the eShop, and one of the most ambitious downloadable 3DS titles on the way has a firm release date and pricing. Image & Form has confirmed that SteamWorld Heist will arrive on 10th December and will have a launch discount until the end of 2015.
As...

The 3DS is quite a system, and has found its way into the hands of more than 50 million players all over the world. However, there are a few features on the console that families often overlook, one of which is Download Play.
Of course, expert and avid Nintendo players know all...

Comcept's Mighty No. 9 has had a curious development history. It stormed to success on Kickstarter seemingly off the back of Keiji Inafune's reputation and its potential as a spiritual successor to Mega Man, yet as development wore on and more footage emerged opinions cooled. The reaction to the visual style hasn't...

Another week begins with the Nintendo Download Update for Europe, and this week we have two major retail releases across the Wii U and 3DS; beyond that we have three rather good Wii games available on the eShop, some free-to-play Pokémon and a range of discounts. Let's get to the details.
Wii...

Nintendo of Europe has been running discounts on the Wii U and 3DS eShop stores over the weekend in its Cyber Deals promotion, throwing in retail releases with discounts of 40-50%. There have been some decent deals but, in our opinion, the final batch is the best yet.
Xenoblade Chronicles is the cross-platform...

Why are you in this abandoned hospital? Why are these monsters attacking you? Where did they come from? Is it really safe to down 38 bottles of pain killers? Dementium Remastered has few answers for you, but the mystery only enhances its eerie, lonely atmosphere. This new version completely rebuilds the original DS...

Nintendo of Europe is now into the third day of deals in its four day discount event across the Wii U and 3DS eShop stores. The first two batches have featured Mario and Donkey Kong franchise releases alongside thoroughly decent alternatives, and on the third day it's the turn of Kirby.
As before there are...

While Nintendo of America went for a varied batch of Black Friday to Cyber Monday offers for its eShop cyber deals, Nintendo of Europe is opting for a smaller number of options spread across 24 hour windows. The first batch featured key Mario titles and The Wonderful 101, and the latest offerings blend some DK...

SteamWorld Heist is approaching a December release, so naturally Image & Form is doing its utmost to build awareness of the release. To that end it's revived its 'Engine Room' video series to tackle some questions from the community.
The Q & A picks up on some key points for those curious about the upcoming...

While Nintendo of America has opted to put a whole range of titles on discount across an extended weekend, Nintendo of Europe is going for a different approach. It looks set to highlight a series of daily deals across four days, and has announced four retail games that are reduced today (27th November), on the eShop.
Each system gets two...

It's Nintendo Download Update time in North America, which also doubles as a Thanksgiving update in the US. This week's big draw is the glut of discount prices from the eShop Cyber Deals; these are below if you missed our original article. Beyond that we have a quirky Wii U eShop release...

There can certainly be some frustrating eShop release gaps between Europe and North America, with the former coming off worse on most occasions. An example of this has been Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures, which came out in North America in Spring / Summer on Wii U and 3DS and has taken a little while to make the move to Europe.
On a...

One of the new announcements made in the recent Nintendo Direct was that of Pokémon Picross. The upcoming puzzle game aims to crossover the Pokémon and Picross series by featuring over 300 puzzle based off of various Pokémon from the popular series. Moreover, once each puzzle is solved, the Pokémon that it depicts is "caught" and...

Update:
We've been able to verify this as accurate with other Europe-based eShop publishers.
Original Article:
It can be easy to take the eShop and various services for granted, but in various countries providers such as Nintendo can be rather slow in making everything available. This has been the case in a number of...

With Black Friday about to descend on the world with more deals than you can shake a stick at, Nintendo of America has now confirmed its eShop promotions that'll be part of the shopping madness - Nintendo of Europe is planning a similar swath of discounts to be announced later in the week...

Nintendo's played its pricing pretty straight with the Wii U eShop, outside of supporting occasional diversions in standard models from Indie developers, and also dabbling in free-to-start with Fatal Frame / Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water. On the 3DS eShop, however, the company's been more experimental - a...

As SteamWorld Heist approaches its target of a December release on 3DS, developer Image & Form has announced the final part of its Ambassador Challenge series. These have been community events in which fans have designed hats or come up with slogans, and the winners have won the right to free copies on all...

If you're in Europe you may have gawked at the most recent Nintendo Download Update for the region just recently, which is mainly full of NES games and 3DS HOME Themes. Nintendo of Europe has shared images of the HOME Themes, and as one of them is the fetching 'Squid Sisters' Splatoon option we felt obliged to share it;...

Steel Empire may be a distant memory to Japanese and North American players, but Europe still doesn't have access the cult 3DS steampunk shooter.
Publisher Teyon previously stated that the game might not make the jump to the Old World, but that decision seems to have been overruled as the game is currently waiting on a USK rating, after...

Another week begins with the European Nintendo Download Update, and this time around there's a bonanza of Virtual Console games and 3DS HOME Themes to consider along with some discounts; we're lacking new downloads beyond smaller retail games, though. Without further pre-amble...

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth ended an intriguing saga for Nintendo download gaming when it came to the Wii U and New 3DS eShop stores. Having previously been rejected by Nintendo based on its content, a gradual change in the company's approach eventually opened the door for Edmund McMillen's critically acclaimed...

It's a sign of the growing prominence of the eShop that titles considered to be retail releases in the DS can be enticing download-only games in the 3DS generation. Prominent 'Nindie' Renegade Kid knows this all too well, and the studio's latest enhanced re-release - Dementium Remastered - is heading to...

With another week comes another batch of Nintendo Download goodies in North America, and 'tis the season for major retail releases on both Wii U and 3DS. The Wii U eShop also gets an exclusive while a range of options are available across both stores - let's get to the details.
Missed the...

For those of you that weren't aware, Dementium: The Ward was a first person horror title originally developed for the Nintendo DS. Interestingly enough, there were aspirations early on in development to turn it into a new Silent Hill game for the platform, but Konami turned down the offer. After the relative success of...

Mega Man Legacy Collection is a slightly strange release on the 3DS - not so long ago Capcom released all six original 'classic' style NES games on the 3DS eShop as individual Virtual Console offerings; now you can play them again in a collection that throws in a Challenge mode and a Museum section to view...

SteamWorld Heist is due to arrive on the 3DS eShop in December, and as the latest entry in the series to follow SteamWorld Dig is sure to gain plenty of attention when it lands. As those that have been following it will be well aware, however, this 2D turn-based strategy title is a notable departure for the series...

Mutant Mudds Super Challenge is something of an interesting entry in the Mutant Mudds series; it's not a sequel, but it's standalone and supposedly will have more content than DLC ordinarily would. It's something of a "pseudo-sequel" then, the New Super Luigi U to Mutant Mudds' New Super Mario Bros. U